Former USS Cole commander blasts Obama on eve of Gitmo report

President Obama’s decision to shutter the terrorist detainment center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is an “outright dangerous approach” to handling national security, the leader of a military families group alleged Monday.

Kirk S. Lippold, the former commander of the USS Cole ship that was attacked in Yemen in 2000, blasted the president’s decision to close down Guantanamo Bay a day before the Justice Department releases a report containing recommendations on how to handle the prison’s detainees in the future.

“Tomorrow, the Obama Administration is slated to issue its report at last providing clear direction on the process and confinement of Guantanamo Bay detainees,” said Lippold, the senior military fellow for the group Military Families United. “For six months the Administration has taken an inconsistent and downright dangerous approach in dealing with this critical national security issue.”

Military Families United bills itself as the “premier military family advocacy organization,” and was founded in 2008.

“While this long awaited report cannot alter the risky decisions made by the Obama Administration during the past six months, it will hopefully provide some answers to the families who have paid the ultimate price in defense of our freedom,” Lippold said.